28 DAYS OF STANTHORPE ART

 Over the next month, we'll be sharing stories and images of art to celebrate our reopening.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or our blog for updates. 

Thanks to all our volunteers who have contributed to this project:

• Monday: #mondaymuse with Mary Rofe

• Tuesday: #tuesdayswithlaurie with Laurie Astill

• Wednesday: #wackywednesday with Susan Peters

• Thursday: #throwbackthursday with Sandra McEwan

• Friday: #fridayfun, #siloart with Robert Bryan

• Saturday: #stanthorpepotterysaturday with Yve Gray

• Sunday: #sundayartstanthorpe with Michelle Conkas & Joe Wilkinson

Tuesday 16 June

Thanks to Laurie Astill for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery. Selected for the 2018 Stanthorpe Art Prize and now purchased and proudly displayed in the cellar door of Savina Lane Vineyard. From a photograph I took in Lucignano, Italy capturing an up to date moment in time as people are dependant upon their mobile phones. The young lady in question is quite oblivious of natures beautiful afternoon light coming through the trees as are the two Italian gentleman on the bench in the distance hence "Disconnected".

Wednesday 17 June

It’s #wackywednesday which means it’s time to get out of our comfortable boxes and delve into the weird, wonderful and wacky world of art.

Ben Wilson @benwilsonchewinggumman has been painting a rather unusual subject around East London for over 20 years.  You can often find him sprawled out on the pavement, paint brush in hand as he beautifies hardened pieces of chewing gum discarded on the ground.  Ben's work has become very popular and he has completed more than 10000 works. Each piece can take between 2 hours and three days to complete and is finished with an acrylic sealer.  Ben photographs his work and is displayed in galleries throughout Europe.

Ben inspires me to use what’s in my hands to create beautiful artwork.  His love of reinterpreting discarded objects makes me think about what I can upcycle, reinvent or makeover from my own stash.  Weird and wacky art requires us to think outside the box, or maybe we should reuse that box to create something unexpected and beautiful today!

See more of Ben’s work: https://www.instagram.com/benwilsonchewinggumman/

#28daysofstanthorpeart

Thanks to Susan Peters for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

Thursday 18 June

This building was transported from Kyoomba Sanatorium after its closure and turned into a Shearing Shed, which was still operational when this photo was taken 5 years ago. 

#28daysofstanthorpeart #throwbackthursday

Thanks to Sandra McEwan for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

Friday 19 June

Rupanyup Silo Art

Rupanyup is a small country town in Western Victoria. This work is by Russian mural artist Julia Volchkova and was completed in 2017. Her artwork focuses on the town’s youth and great love of team sport. The work vividly captures the spirit of community and provides an accurate insight into rural youth culture.

The people depicted are two local residents, Ebony Baker and Jordon Weidemann, representing netball and Australian rules football. They embody the youthful spirit of strength, hope and camaraderie of country Australia. 

#fridayfun, #TGIF #siloart #28daysofstanthorpeart

Thanks to Robert Bryan for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

Saturday 20 June

A Regional Art Development Funding Workshop with Suvira McDonald. 

Suvira, a practicing visual artist, conducted a 5 day workshop for a group of enthused potters. The first weekend workshop was conducted using handbuilding techniques creating Teapots and Towers.  Once the work was completed and bisque fired, a second workshop then took place with glazing of the pieces followed by a wood firing using the pottery clubs wood fired kiln.  Creations from the workshop were then showcased with an Exhibition at the Stanthorpe Art Gallery.

Photo 1 / Suvira demonstrating slab techniques

Photo 2 / The clubs woodfired kiln loaded ready for firing. The firing took 18 hours of stoking wood.

Photo 3 / Kiln has cooled and ready for opening. Opening of the kiln - always an exciting moment.

Photo 4 / Firing schedule for the wood firing.

Photo 5 / Teapot Maryke Miller made at the workshop.

Photo 6 / Maryke with her tower she made at the Workshop.     Maryke:  “The workshop with Suvira was particularly interesting to me watching the creativity and diversity that came through with every piece that was created . Also it was a five day workshop and the camaraderie was really enjoyable. I very much enjoyed putting my teapot together as I had never made a hand built teapot before and I was very happy with the end result.”

Photo 7 / Article in the Stanthorpe Border Post

Thanks to Yve Gray for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

#stanthorpepotterysaturday #28daysofstanthorpeart

Sunday 21 June

My Bed by Karla Marchesi was acquired by SRAG from the 2010 Stanthorpe Arts Festival. Joe says that this is a very warm and personal insight into a creative young woman’s typical private space and dreams. This artwork is very poignant in the present times when many of us have retreated into our personal space and creativity to help make sense of the world around us.

Thanks to Joe Wilkinson for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

Joe has been a volunteer at the Stanthorpe Art gallery since 2002.

His work has mostly been with exhibition curation, installation and the conservation and condition reporting of the Stanthorpe Art Gallery’s valuable collection. He has chosen some works where their meaning transcends time and are very pertinent at this interesting and challenging time.

#sundayartstanthorpe #28daysofstanthorpeart

Monday 22 June

‘My Drawing shows Sydney’s Pilot boat ‘Captain Cook’ leading the P&O liner ‘Maloja’, followed by the ‘Orford’ under the arch of the Bridge.’ ‘Charles Kingsford Smith charged me 10 shillings to fly around the harbour to visualise what the Bridge would look like on the festive day of Opening Celebrations.’ (Sydney Harbour Bridge opened to traffic March 19, 1932)

‘In 1930 I made my first lithograph, a drawing on a steel plate, showing the first stage in the joining of the arch. I made another of the bridge deck nearing completion, and both subjects were duly printed. By now most of the freelance artwork on which I depended had now dried up and there was no money to meet the weekly rent of 2 pounds. Buying a tent and some essential camp gear, we left Sydney and the Bridge and spent the next six months across the border on the high slope of Queensland’s Granite Belt, selling an occasional drawing and doing some fruit-picking, our existence was as close to earthly paradise as I could conceive.’ 

Image: The Bridge - page 64-65 Lithograph, View from a Woolloomooloo rooftop. Currawong Press. 1981. 

Thanks to Mary Rofe for contributing this as part of the 28 Days of Art project, to celebrate the reopening of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

#mondaymotivation #mondaymuse #28daysofstanthorpeart